Hostname: page-component-6bb9c88b65-g7ldn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-26T11:10:55.976Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Managing bushmeat hunting in Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

David S. Wilkie ,
Bryan Curran ,
Richard Tshombe  and
Gilda A. Morelli
David S. Wilkie
Affiliation:
Associates in Forest Research and Development, 18 Clark Lane, Waltham, MA 02154-1823, USA. E-mail: dwilkie@msn.com
Bryan Curran
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, 185th and Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY 10460, USA.
Richard Tshombe
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, 185th and Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY 10460, USA.
Gilda A. Morelli
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167-3807, USA.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Projected rates of agricultural clearing in the Ituri Forest of north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo range from 0 to 0.1 per cent per year and suggest that deforestation for subsistence agriculture is not an immediate threat to the integrity of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR). If the human population continues to grow at over 3 per cent per annum, and bushmeat continues to be a major source of income for rural communities, subsistence-level exploitation of bushmeat may, however, not be sustainable. This paper proposes management approaches that address the demand for and supply of bushmeat, which are targeted at those political districts within the OWR where hunting is the greatest threat to populations of bushmeat species. These management approaches are designed to help conserve the Ituri's natural resources without compromising the health and income security of rural communities.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Oryx , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , April 1998 , pp. 131 - 144
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1998

References

Alvard, M.S. 1993. Testing the ‘ecologically noble savagé’ hypothesis: interspecific prey choice by Piro hunters of Amazonian Peru. Human Ecology, 21, 355–387.Google Scholar
Alvard, M.S. 1994. Conservation by native peoples: prey choice in a depleted habitat. Human Nature, 5, 127–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anadu, P.A., Elamah, P.O. and Oates, J.F. 1988. The bushmeat trade in southwestern Nigeria: a case study. Human Ecology, 16, 199–208.Google Scholar
Anstey, S. 1991. Wildlife utilization in Liberia. WWF International, Gland, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Asibey, E.O.A. 1974. The grasscutter, Thyronomys swinderianus Temmick, in Ghana. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London, 34, 161–170.Google Scholar
Asibey, E.O.A. 1977. Expected effects of land-use patterns on future supplies of bushmeat in Africa south of the Sahara. Environmental Conservation, 4, 43–49.Google Scholar
Auzel, P. 1996. Evaluation de l'impact de la cnasse sur la faune des foréts d'Afrique Centrale, Nord Congo. Mise au point de methodes basees sur l'analyse des pratiques et les résultats des chasseurs locaux. Wildlife Conservation Society/GEF Congo, Bomassa, Republic of Congo.Google Scholar
Bailey, R.C. and Peacock, N.R. 1988. Efe pygmies of northeast Zaire: subsistence strategies in the Ituri forest. In Uncertainty in the Food Supply (eds de Garine, I. and Harrison, G. A.), pp. 88–117. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Barnes, R.F.W. 1990. Deforestation trends in tropical Africa. African Journal of Ecology, 28, 161–173.Google Scholar
Becker, D.S. and Ostrom, E. 1995. Human ecology and resource sustainability: the importance of institutional diversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 26, 113–133.Google Scholar
Behra, O. 1989. Sex ratio of African dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus tetraspis Cope, 1861) exploited for food in Congo. Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.Google Scholar
Bennett Hennessey, A. 1995. A study of the meat trade in Ouesso, Republic of Congo. Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY.Google Scholar
Bishop, C.A. 1972. Demography, ecology and trade among the northern Ojibwa and swampy Cree. Western Canadian Journal of Anthropology, 3 (1), 58–71.Google Scholar
Bissonette, J.A. and Krausman, P.R. 1995. Integrating People and Wildlife for a Sustainable Future. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Maryland.Google Scholar
Bodmer, R.E. 1995. Susceptibility of mammals to overhunting in Amazonia. In Integrating People and Wildlife for a Sustainable Future (eds Bissonette, J. A. and Krausman, P. R.), pp. 292–295. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Maryland.Google Scholar
Caldecott, J. 1987. Hunting and Wildlife Management in Sarawak. World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Chardonnet, P., Fritz, H., Zorzi, N. and Feron, E. 1995. Current importance of traditional hunting and major contrasts in wild meat consumption in sub-saharan Africa. In Integrating People and Wildlife for a Sustainable Future (eds Bissonette, J. A. and Krausman, P. R.), pp. 304–307. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Maryland.Google Scholar
Chestin, I.E. and Poyarkov, A.Y. 1995. Preliminary data on the illegal wildlife trade in Russia. In Integrating People and Wildlife for a Sustainable Future (eds. Bissonette, J. A. and Krausman, P. R.), pp. 323–325. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Maryland.Google Scholar
Curran, B. and Tshombe, R. 1997. Integrating local communities into the management of protected areas: lessons from Zaire and Cameroon. In African Rain Forest Ecology and Conservation (eds Weber, W., Veder, A., Morland, H. Simons, White, L. and Hart, T.). Yale University Press, New Haven. In press.Google Scholar
Fa, J.E., Juste, J., Perez del Val, J. and Castroviejo, J. 1995. Impact of market hunting on mammal species in Equatorial Guinea. Conservation Biology, 9, 1107–1115.Google Scholar
Fitzgibbon, C.D., Mogaka, H. and Fanshawe, J.H. 1995. Subsistence hunting in Arabuko-Sokoke forest, Kenya, and its effects on mammal populations. Conservation Biology, 9, 1116–1126.Google Scholar
Fragoso, J.M.V. 1991. The effects of hunting on tapirs in Belize. In Neotropical Wildlife Use and Conservation (eds Robinson, J. G. and Redford, K. H.), pp. 154–162. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Geist, V. 1988. How markets for wildlife meat and parts, and the sale of hunting privileges, jeopardize wildlife conservation. Conservation Biology, 2, 15–26.Google Scholar
Hannah, L. 1992. African people, African parks: an evaluation of development initiatives as a means of improving protected area conservation in Africa. Conservation International, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Harako, R. 1976. The Mbuti as hunters, a study of ecological anthropology of the Mbuti pygmies. Kyoto University African Studies, 10, 37–99.Google Scholar
Hart, J.A. 1985. Comparative dietary ecology of a community of frugivorous forest ungulates in Zaire. PhD thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing.Google Scholar
Hart, J.A. and Petrides, G.A. 1987. A study of relationships between Mbuti hunting systems and faunal resources in the Ituri Forest of Zaire. In People and the Tropical Forest (eds Lugo, A. E., Ewel, J., Hecht, S., Murphy, P., Padoch, C., Schmink, M. and Stone, D.), pp. 12–15. US Department of State, US Man and Biosphere Program, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
HPI. 1996 a. Boyo rural integrated farmer's alliance, Cameroon: project summary. Heifer Project International, Little Rock, Arkansas.Google Scholar
HPI. 1996 b. Bui North/Donga Mantung small-holder integrated agricultural projects, Cameroon: project summary. Heifer Project International, Little Rock, Arkansas.Google Scholar
Hudson, C.M. Jr, 1995. Why the southeastern Indians slaughtered deer. In Indians, Animals and the Fur Trade: a Critique of Keepers of the Game (ed. Krech, S. I.), pp. 157–176. University of Georgia Press, Athens.Google Scholar
Ichikawa, M. 1983. An examination of the hunting dependent life of the Mbuti pygmies, eastern Zaire. African Studies Monographs, 4, 55–76.Google Scholar
IFPF. 1995. Annual Report. Ituri Forest Peoples Fund, Newton, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Joanen, T., McNease, L., Elsey, R. and Staton, M.A. 1994. The commercial consumptive use of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in Louisiana: its effect on conservation – a case study. Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Grand Chenier, Louisiana.Google Scholar
Jori, F., Mensah, G.H. and Adjamohoun, E. 1995. Grasscutter production: an example of rational exploitation of wildlife. Biodiversity and Conservation, 4, 257–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Juste, J., Fa, J.E., Perez del Val, J. and Castroviejo, J. 1995. Market dynamics of bushmeat species in Equatorial Guinea. Journal of Applied Ecology, 32, 454–467.Google Scholar
Kiss, A. 1990. Living with wildlife: wildlife resource management with local participation in Africa. Technical Paper No. 130. World Bank, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Lahm, S.A. 1993. Ecology and economics of human/wildlife interaction in northeastern Gabon. PhD thesis, New York University, New York.Google Scholar
Lamarque, F.A. 1995. The French co-operation's strategy in the field of African wildlife. In Integrating People and Wildlife for a Sustainable Future (eds Bissonette, J. A. and Krausman, P. R.), pp. 267–270. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Maryland.Google Scholar
Ludwig, D., Hilborn, R. and Walters, C.J. 1993. Uncertainty, resource exploitation and conservation: lessons from history. Science, 260, 17–36.Google Scholar
ma Mbalele, M. 1978. Part of African culture. Unasylva, 29, 16–17.Google Scholar
Martin, G.H.G. 1983. Bushmeat in Nigeria as a natural resource with environmental implications. Environmental Conservation, 10, 125–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muchaal, P.K. and Ngandjui, G. 1995. Wildlife populations in the western Dja reserve (Cameroon): an assessment of the impact of village hunting and alternatives for sustainable utilization. ECOFAC/MEF, Yaounde, Cameroon.Google Scholar
Myers, N. 1980. Conversion of Tropical Moist Forests. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Njiforti, H.L. 1996. Preferences and present demand for bushmeat in northern Cameroon: some implications for wildlife conservation. Environmental Conservation, 23, 149–155.Google Scholar
Noss, A.J. 1995. Duikers, cables and nets: a cultural ecology of hunting in a central African forest. PhD thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Rich, E.E. 1960. Trade habits and economic motivation among the indians of north America. Canadian journal of Economics and Political Science, 26, 35–53.Google Scholar
Robinson, J.G. and Redford, K.H. 1991. Sustainable harvest of neotropical forest mammals. In Neotropical Wildlife Use and Conservation (eds Robinson, J. G. and Redford, K. H.), pp. 415–429. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Steel, E.A. 1994. Study of the value, and volume of bushmeat commerce in Gabon. World Wildlife Fund, Libreville.Google Scholar
Stephenson, P.J. and Newby, J.E. 1997. Conservation of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Zaire. Oryx, 31, 49–58.Google Scholar
Tewe, G.O. and Ajaji, S.S. 1982. Performance and nutritional utilization by the African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus, W.) on household waste of local foodstuffs. African journal of Ecology, 20, 37–41.Google Scholar
Thomas, S. 1991. Population densities and patterns of habitat use among anthropoid primates of the Ituri Forest, Zaire. Biotropica, 23, 68–83.Google Scholar
Trefethen, J.B. 1975. An American Crusade for Wildlife. Winchester Press and the Boone and Crockett Club, New York.Google Scholar
Wells, M., Brandon, K. and Hannah, L. 1992. People and parks: linking protected area management with local communities. The World Bank, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
White, L.J.T. 1994. Biomass of rain forest mammals in the Lope reserve, Gabon. Journal of Animal Ecology, 63, 499–512.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S. 1989. Impact of roadside agriculture on subsistence hunting in the Ituri forest of northeastern Zaire. American journal of Physical Anthropology, 78, 485–494.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S. 1990. Establishing the Okapi Rain Forest Reserve: avoiding human land-use conflicts using satellite image analysis. Presented at the 10th Annual International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, College Park, MD.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S. and Curran, B. 1991. Why do Mbuti hunters use nets? Ungulate hunting efficiency of bows and nets in the Ituri rain forest. American Anthropologist, 93, 680–689.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S. and Curran, B. 1993. Historical trends in forager and farmer exchange in the Ituri rain forest of northeastern Zaire. Human Ecology, 1, 389–417.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S. and Finn, J.T. 1988. A spatial model of land use and forest regeneration in the Ituri forest of northeastern Zaire. Ecological Modelling, 41, 307–323.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S. and Finn, J.T. 1990. Slash-burn cultivation and mammal abundance in the Ituri forest, Zaire. Biotropica, 22, 90–99.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S. and Morelli, G.A. 1997. Roads and development in eastern Congo: declining livelihoods and growing self-reliance among the Lese and Efe. Cultural Survival Quarterly, 21, 38–41.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S., Curran, B., Tshombe, R. and Morelli, G.A. 1997 a. Modeling the sustainability of subsistence farming and hunting in the Ituri Forest of Zaire. Conservation Biology, in press.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S., Sidle, J.G., Boundzanga, G.C., Blake, S. and Auzel, P. 1997 b. Defaunation or deforestation: commercial logging and market hunting in northern Congo. In The Impacts of Commercial Logging on Wildlife in Tropical Forests (eds Grajal, A., Robinson, J. G. and Vedder, A.). In press.Google Scholar